It may be the longest day of the year today, but it could be longer – sometimes there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in a day! We’re gearing up for a busy week, but it should be a good one as well. On an unrelated note – I’m really happy with who ultimately won season 2 of Top Chef Masters! Here are this week’s food notes:

• A reminder about River City Shakespeare’s Picnic Contest, which I wrote about in late May. Blog about or send them a write-up of your dream picnic basket from Sunterra to be considered for a $100 Sunterra gift certificate and festival passes! The deadline to enter is June 28, 2010.
• We finally bought tickets to our first ArtsScene event, a Behind the Scenes party at Hotel Macdonald, taking place on August 19. Not only will we get an architectural tour of the building, but attendees will be treated to drinks on their spectacular patio. Looking forward to it!
• News from Kerstin’s Chocolates: “For the summer months of July and August, we are serving our hot chocolate frozen.  We are also partnering with Cafe Leva to make an incredibly intense dark chocolate gelato using pure Valrhona dark chocolate.  You will be able to buy it at our shop in the form of an chocolate cookie ice cream sandwich starting June 29.” Sounds delicious!
• New bakery and cupcakery alert: Sweet Krumblz (6861 170 Street) just had an open house on the weekend, and from the gallery on their website, their products looks fabulous.
• Liane reports that Century Hospitality Corporate Chef Paul Schufelt has applied to be on Top Chef’s inaugural Canadian season. Best of luck to him – it’d be amazing to get some local representation on the show!
• Also from Liane – an article in Saturday’s Journal on a meal prepared for six Journal staff by Chef Sebastian Lysz. Apparently hiring personal chefs are a rising trend. See the gallery here.
• Local blogger Alison Mazoff of Well-Blended Vegan gives the new Cafe Beirut on Whyte Avenue a spin.
• Chris of Eating is the Hard Part got a peek inside Shaw Conference Centre’s massive kitchen facilities as staff rushed to prepare a meal for 3000 guests. Worth a look!
• Need a primer on Community Supported Agriculture? See wrote a good introductory piece this week.
• I think it’s awesome that the Calgary food blogging community came together this past weekend for a bake sale in support of Calgary Meals on Wheels. Perhaps #yegfood bloggers could do some similar too?
• Co Co Di’s new location at 11454 Jasper Avenue (780-425-1717) is finally open! Anyone checked out the restaurant yet?

Co Co Di

• Helped along by the fact that Epcor shut down the water for the entire morning at the office one day last week (you realize how reliant you are on running water at that point), I headed to Fo Guang Tea House for lunch. I haven’t been back since my first visit, so it was a nice opportunity to return and sample something different from the menu. The laksa noodles were great – the vegetarian fish balls could have fooled me, as they tasted like the real thing, and the broth with a hint of coconut milk was soothing. As I said in my previous post – the Tea House is a sanctuary in the bustle in the core, and I wondered why it wasn’t full. I guess it might still be a well-kept secret?

Laksa from Fo Guang Tea House

• Mack and I attended Don Iveson’s campaign launch party yesterday. In addition to local beer from Alley Kat and coffee from Transcend, food at the event was catered by Elm Cafe! Mack couldn’t get enough of the warm-from-the-oven bread pudding bites, while I thought the beautiful marriage of strawberries and Kerstin’s Chocolates couldn’t be beat.

 

Nachos with fresh tomato salsa

 

Delectably simple strawberry and chocolate bites

• We ended the weekend with a Father’s Day barbecue at Rundle Park. It was great to see so many people out enjoying the green space. We certainly did too.

 

So many geese!

 

Smile!

While it took me a lot longer to get into the second season of Top Chef Masters, I feel like I am knee-deep now. While I deeply admire his work ethic and perfectionist tendencies, for whatever reason, Susur Lee just rubs me the wrong way – I am pretty much rooting for anyone other than him at this point. Anyway, on to this week’s food notes:

• Latitude 53, with downtown’s only rooftop patio, opens their Summer Rooftop Patio Series on Thursday, June 17. What better way to spend an evening perusing the newest installation with a cocktail in hand? Check it out.
• The St. Albert Farmers’ Market (billed as Western Canada’s largest) starts this week, on June 19. It’s such an overwhelmingly large market, but has a great atmosphere, I think.
• A reminder that the next Farmers’ Market Dinner at Madison’s Grill is taking place on June 25, 2010. The menu is now live on the website under “Feature Menus”.
• Eva Sweet, Edmonton’s first and only waffle truck, has been getting some play in the blogosphere – check out Liane’s teaser and Cream and Sugar’s review.
• Wild Earth Bakery has now completed their renovations! Check out Marianne’s post with a ton of great photos.
• Jason Foster contributed a great piece for Vue this past week about the best cycling route to take for a “two wheeled pub crawl”.
• Speaking of bakeries – Doreen asks whether or not the Old World Bread Factory has been emptied. Can anyone confirm?
• Valerie, Lillian and Dan experimented with a sous vide machine over the weekend. Read about their tasty adventure here (that pork looks to die for!).
• Want to sharpen your kitchen abilities? Get your skills up to snuff at NAIT’s popular Culinary Boot Camps this summer – several of the classes are already full.
• A 35lb (communal) poutine?! Say it isn’t so! I’ll have to get my butt to CharCut in Calgary stat.
• Jennifer Cockrall-King’s been writing up a storm on her blog – recapping her recent trek to Cuba to learn more about the urban farming scene, and currently, capturing her thoughts on LA’s urban agriculture movement. Keep it up, Jennifer!
• Related – Saveur Magazine’s June/July issue is a beautiful one, focusing on markets all over the world. The photos alone are worth the $6 price tag.
• Serious Eats did a round up of some of the “international-style” hot dogs available in Queens. Sigh – makes me wish we had more than just Fat Franks to choose from.
• Brought to my attention by Shermie – forthcoming on the lower level of City Centre West is Press’d: The Sandwich Company. Between this and Fatburger, I’d say downtown office dwellers should be pleased with the number of new options they’ll soon have.

Press’d

• After the farmers’ market on Thursday, Annie and May joined me at the apartment for a home-cooked meal. Annie’s simple pasta of tomatoes, garlic, parsley and olive oil was delicious, which we enjoyed with a side of mixed greens from Greens, Eggs and Ham. For dessert – tiramisu from the Italian Bakery.

Annie’s pasta (half-consumed by the time I remembered to take a photo)

 Tiramisu (a steal at just $2.50 a slice)

• Ellen and I hit up Boualouang on Friday to satisfy our craving for Thai food. For once, the spice level of the green curry didn’t have me reaching for my water glass every bite. The pork was incredibly tender (my default order is chicken), and would definitely be something I’d have again. The pad thai is consistently good.

Green curry with pork

Pad thai

• Mack and I are eating outside every chance we get. On Saturday, that meant pizza al fresco!

I think everything tastes better outside…

If you haven’t yet seen Mack’s Pecha Kucha presentation, what are you waiting for? He did an awesome job Thursday night at the seventh incarnation of an event that aims to inspire the “next generation” of Edmontonians. If you haven’t yet been, mark your calendar for September 28, 2010, when PKN8 will take place at the University of Alberta campus (check the Next Gen website for more details). On to this week’s food notes:

• The second annual Al Fresco 104th Street Block Party is this Saturday, June 12! Look forward to patios, a fashion show, wine tasting, and of course, an outdoor movie screening. See you there!
• I’m getting excited for Indulgence, taking place on June 14. They’ve started to reveal menu items on their blog, and will continue to do so throughout the week. Culina’s dish of “bison brisket, slow-cooked in a balsamic barbecue sauce served with biscuits and horseradish-spiced marinated onions” sounds fantastic.
• Learn more about Eva Sweet, Edmonton’s first and only waffle truck, from Brittney Le Blanc. You can find it at 107 Street and 99 Avenue (in front of the WCB building) from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. most days, and at the Alberta Avenue Farmers’ Market Thursdays and at the Beverly Farmers’ Market on Tuesday evenings. They’re also on Twitter!
• There’s a new tea shop in town – Cha Island Tea Co. (10332 81 Avenue) in Old Strathcona. It strives to give Edmonton a tropical-themed tea and coffee lounge.
• Mack spotted a new Chop is in the works at Ellerslie Road and 100 Avenue.
• Marianne provided a quick run-down of what eats to expect at the Folk Festival this year.
• The Journal ran their next profile of a local foodie last week – Ruth Kelly of Venture Publishing.
• Gail Hall will be starting her popular Market Fresh Cooking classes again this July. It’s a great way to spend a Saturday morning – shopping for fresh ingredients, getting to know local farmers, and cooking up a storm!
• If there’s anyone that can infect anyone with an appreciation for food, it’s Valerie, so I think it’s great that she will be teaching a cooking class to 10 – 14 year olds interested in learning how to cook at the City Arts Centre this summer.
• Also from Valerie – if you haven’t already, read about her tour through Chinatown with LeQuan (who also posted her thoughts). Food is always more fun with others!
• June 1 was National Hunger Awareness Day – the Edmonton Food Bank announced the winners of their Expressions of Hunger contest last week, cumulating in an exhibition at City Hall. The exhibition has since moved to the Carrot Community Coffee House, where it will remain until June 23.
• Related –  Calgary-based Julie Van Rosendaal took part in A Week in Their Kitchen, which challenged a a few bloggers to cook meals using only what can be found in a food hamper. What resulted was a series of thought-provoking posts.
• It’s too bad Calgary’s City Council voted against allowing for backyard chicken coops last week. Still, I have a feeling it’s not the last time we will hear about the issue, as the article alludes.
• U of A grads can participate in an upcoming 11 day tour of Tuscany through the Alumni Association. I’m sure it would be alot better than the Contiki tour we did a few years ago!
• I saw an ad for a new type of Kraft Dinner made with cauliflower and wheat. Funny how this campaign is alongside the nostalgia ads.
• Food hacker Kenji has the best job – he just learned how to duplicate McDonald’s fries in the comfort of his own home.
• It’s handy to have Cellar Door along my homeward bound bus route – I picked up a lemon meringue pie ($3.25) to share with Mack last week after dinner. I loved the buttery crust.

 

Lemon meringue pie from Cellar Door 

• Another plus of walking to and from the City Market are the stops that can be made easily along the way. I wandered into The Butler Did It for the first time. Though they don’t normally serve breakfast, they were offering it that day. It’s a charming space, where lunches can be had during the week, and can also be booked for functions. I picked up a few kitchen utensils, priced at 30% off – score!

 

Inside The Butler Did It

• I also stopped at Kerstin’s Chocolates, wanting to try out their new Roses are Red Chocophilia, with saffron, rose and raspberry (I like it a lot better than Lemon Dream). The clerk told me that Kerstin is currently working on her bacon-chocolate concoctions for Father’s Day. Expect several special sweets, which may or may not include peanut butter in the mix.

 

Roses are Red Chocophilia

• Lots of new restaurant action on Whyte – it seems Pour House (replacing Flavours) is now open, as are both Press Cafe (10846 82 Avenue) and Cafe Beirut (10812 82 Avenue). Unfortunately, I couldn’t stop in for fear of missing my bus. Has anyone checked out either yet?

 

Press Cafe & Bistro

 

Cafe Beirut

I think I need a few days to recover from the weekend – everything seems infinitely more exhausting when the weather is uncooperative, or is it just me? June is shaping up to be a busy month, so I hope the sun starts to shine (and stay!) soon. On to this week’s food notes:

• I can barely contain my excitement – not only does Edmonton have a brand new food truck, but it serves WAFFLES! I am hoping Eva Sweet makes some downtown stops soon.
• Looks like Nate Box has pushed back his Elm Cafe opening date to June 14. Speaking of Nate, he stopped by the Unknown Studio to talk food – take a listen here.
• Help bid the original Padmanadi location adieu at their farewell buffet on June 2, from noon-1opm ($20/person). They hope to host the grand opening of the new digs at 101 Street and 107 Avenue on June 19, 2010.
• There’s another food blog in town, called May Contain Nuts. Welcome to the scene, King Crabby and Jean Poutine!
• On the topic of food blogs, the St. Albert Gazette published a feature article this weekend about the regional food blogging scene, including interviews with Nikki Stoyko of The Read Onion, Rhianna Morris of Cream and Sugar and me.
• The Municipal Development Plan, which will help protect some local food sources, was passed last week! Thanks to the Greater Edmonton Alliance and the passionate Edmontonians who helped make this happen.
• There are lots of other great things happening in local food – Shaw Conference Centre announced that they have planted a garden for the second year in a row, which will supply the kitchen with vegetables and herbs. Check out the photo gallery here.
• Liane also did a great round-up of some local food initiatives on Saturday, including The Good Food Box, Locavoria and the Greens, Eggs and Ham Futures Program. Duffy even made an appearance on the photo spread!
• On Wednesday, Calgary’s City Council votes on whether or not to allow a pilot of urban chicken coops to go forward. The name of the group pushing for this? The Canadian Urban Liberated Chicken Klub, or, CLUCK.
• Though municipal beekeeping hasn’t been in the news as much as chickens, the discussion will begin soon enough. In Toronto, two hives have been installed on the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, home of the Canadian Opera Company.
• I remember when I was a kid, with no library in my neighbourhood, a book truck would stop at the strip mall across the street every weekend. So I think this is brilliant – a mobile farmers’ market truck in NY that can offer fresh vegetables in underserved neighbourhoods – at least until something more permanent can be set up.
• Interesting article (and fun with data) about how much money people spend for lunch in New York, based on zip code locations.
• Though the official KFC Double Down isn’t available in Edmonton, Chris did his best to make his own version here. Not for the faint of heart!
• So true – “Children’s menus are the death of civilization”, says a NYC restaurant owner. And I say that as someone who grew up as a picky eater.
• More NY – though I know we’re at least five years away from “gimmicky” restaurants in Edmonton, we could probably learn something from New York’s experience.
• We had originally picked up a fresh-to-go meal from d’Lish to serve as an emergency dinner for my sisters, they ended up not needing it. So we had it tonight, a great convenience as both Mack and I arrived home late. We were also pleased that the portion size for this dish, a chicken parmigiana with garlic and tomato pasta, was larger than our previous to-go meal. Though it was a bit pricey ($21.50), I think it’s a win-cubed instance – not only does it support local producers, but also a vibrant, independent business. And of course, fills your belly with tasty food!

 

Chicken Parmigiana from d’Lish

• To help kill time while waiting for the next bus to arrive (and to warm our chilled selves), we stopped inside Axis Cafe on Saturday. I’ve been meaning to check out this coffee shop for some time, and was happy I finally did. It’s gorgeous inside, with two levels of comfortable furniture, funky art, and a beautiful boardroom to boot. My white hot chocolate was good, though a little lukewarm, but I’m willing to give them another shot.

 

Axis Cafe

I’m almost ashamed to admit we slept as much as we did these past few days, but it was clear we needed it – and what better time to rest and relax indoors than a grey and rainy long weekend? On to this week’s food notes:

• Mark your calendar! The second annual Al Fresco 104th Street Block Party is taking place on June 12 this year. Expect two sound stages, a Portuguese BBQ, a crostini bar from Red Star’s Daniel Costa, and a screening of Chocolat – all underneath a canopy of stars! Mack and I went last year, and enjoyed ourselves.
• Looks like Wild Earth Bakery has made the move to the revamped portion of their cafe. Check out Marianne and Cathy’s posts for a peek inside.
• Vue Weekly published a piece on the renovated Parkallen Restaurant this week. It seems as if the owners are trying to woo a younger clientele.
• There’s a new Edmonton food blog on the scene – welcome, Steph of Crisp & Chewy!
• From Valerie: Jeff Sutherland has started an Eating Paleo in Edmonton group, which is a “meetup of like-minded people to help you achieve optimal health by eating real food! Share recipes, tips, advice, support, and inspiration. Maybe most importantly, help each other source real food that is local, ethical, and sustainably produced.”
• Upside-down gardening seems to be all the rage right now – this NYT article is a good primer on the trend.
• On the subject of the upcoming World Cup – a few local bars have applied to open earlier in order to accommodate potential viewers; and deVine’s is hosting a World Cup-themed tasting on June 19.
• Heading to Vancouver soon and needing pointers for good eats? Check out Vancouver Magazine’s 2010 restaurant awards.
• Hellmann’s is providing $100,000 in Real Food Grants to “support initiatives that bring Canadian families and kids together with real food in their community.” Deadline to apply is June 30, 2010.
• I have never seen pancakes as intense as Jim’s. Think I’m kidding? Check out this three-dimensional ferris wheel.
• Some things should never be made vegan, like KFC’s Double Down sandwich, for instance.
• Flavours (10354 82 Avenue) on Whyte is no more – Pour House will be taking its place.

Pour House

• “The legend returns”, or so proclaims the sign outside the former Ivory Club downtown (10304 111 Street), which has been reclaimed and will once again become the sports pub Overtime on July 1, 2010.

Overtime returns

• We stopped by the original Transcend over the weekend to pick up a bag of beans, and was confronted by a line up a dozen people deep. Nice to know the business hasn’t slowed at that location since T2 opened up! We joked around with some patrons behind us that there should have been a “beans only” express line, but no dice.

Love the new vacuum-sealed packaging!

• Mack and I are suckers for novel-flavoured chips, so we couldn’t pass by a display of PC’s Ballpark Hot Dog chips ($2.50) without picking up a bag. From the description on the bag, we were expecting hints of hot dog, mustard and relish, but unfortunately, the chips tasted predominantly like relish, or a variation of dill pickle.

PC Ballpark Hot Dog chips

• One of my coworkers moonlights as a cake decorator at a local bakery. For a potluck at work, she demonstrated her talents with two brilliant desserts – a tiered Coca-Cola can and a giant hamburger. She even had tiny little hamburger cupcakes, made with layers of white cake (the bun), chocolate cake (the patty), and orange, green, red and yellow icing (for cheese, relish, ketchup and mustard). Too cute!

Beautiful cakes

It’s that time of year again – nope, I’m not talking about seeding your garden or scheduling long weekend plans – but I am talking about season finales! (Or in some cases, series finales.) The writers of House really know how to pull on my heartstrings (and churn out one of the best episodes I’ve seen in a while), and I almost can’t bear to watch 24 next week, with the anticipated showdown between my two favourite characters. Onto this week’s photo-filled food notes:

• Madison’s Grill has scheduled another Farmers’ Market Dinner for June 25, 2010. I attended one back in January, and though I love hearty, cold weather food, I can imagine the kitchen will be having a field day with warm weather produce. Call 780-423-3600 for tickets.
• I finally purchased my Indulgence tickets last week over the phone (through the Junior League of Edmonton, 780-433-9739). They are also available online, but for an additional $2 surcharge.
• Looks like there is a new craft brewer in town: Yellowhead Brewery will be situated in the space formerly occupied by Maverick on 105 Street and 102 Avenue.
• Something to look forward to: a downtown location of Transcend. In related news, Transcend coffee is now being served in place of Intellegensia at Three Bananas.
• Liane shared some news this week: changes afoot at Koutouki (looks like the only restaurant that remains unaltered is the 124 Street location), and a new organic and gluten-free shop to open on May 21 in the north side called Dutch Treats and Farm Fresh Meats (12769 50 Street).
• Lots of great stuff in this week’s Vue Weekly – including the 2010 Golden Forks Awards (I thought it interesting that readers voted for local restaurants with multiple locations like Doan’s and Sicilian Pasta Kitchen in the “chain” category) and Jason Foster and Mel Priestly’s pairings of beer and wine with exotic meats.
• See also published the results of their 15th annual Best of Edmonton poll (I know I’m out of touch when I don’t recognize 2/3 names in the “Sexiest Edmonton female” category).
• The Journal reviewed Salvatores, an overhauled Sorrentino’s outpost in Sherwood Park this weekend. It’s quite the cheeky write-up.
• You may remember that the series Endless Feast filmed an episode in Edmonton last year, featuring an idyllic dinner served at the Peas on Earth farm. Gail Hall isn’t yet sure if the episode will air in Canada yet, but in the meantime, check out this clip.
• Great news – it looks like Toby Young may be gone from the next Top Chef judging panel (with Eric Riepert and Gail Simmons alternating in his place).

• Speaking of coffee, Catfish Coffee opened up their retail location next to Culina Highlands (6507 112 Avenue) on April 4. They have limited operating hours (Tuesday to Thursday), but I’d be interested in checking it out sometime!

 

Catfish Coffee

• After Linda Hughes’ talk at the AGA last week, we wandered around the gallery (unfortunately, the Karsh portrait we took didn’t turn out). I was able to snap a picture of the now-installed Terrace Cafe.

 

Terrace Cafe

• Mack told me about a new cafe that opened on 97 Street, so we wandered over to check it out. Only open for breakfast and lunch, from the outside anyway, Early Bird Cafe (10221 97 Street, 780-420-6826) looks like a cute little diner. See their menu here, here and here.

Early Bird Cafe

• We ended that evening with a lovely latte from Credo. I wonder how long it would take me to learn how to pour such beautiful designs?

 

Vanilla latte from Credo

• Next door to Credo, LIT Wine Bar has had an “opening soon” sign tacked up since August 2009 – I didn’t think they’d ever open. On Saturday, they took advantage of the large City Centre Market crowds with an open house, complete with cannoli and orange juice. We didn’t get any really great shots of the interior, but it’s swank, with lots of leather, a floor-to-ceiling wine display, and a second level of seating. They open this Thursday, May 20.

Cannoli from LIT (they were a bit too hard)

• Lastly, coming soon – Far East Sandwiches, on the corner of 109 Street and 103 Avenue. It’s a bright and open loft space, so I’m interesting to see what they do with the place.

Far East Sandwiches

While at Southgate last week, I checked out the Canstruction sculptures at Centre Court – all made entirely out of canned goods.

 

A CAN-oe man, by Williams Engineering

• To accompany my shopping, I indulged in my first iced brewed Starbucks coffee of the year. Here’s to many more!

 

Iced brewed coffee

Last week, Paula Simons wrote about the campaign to rename 104 Street. I think it’s a great time to talk about it, with the City Centre Market kicking off this Saturday, May 15. It should be a great day, with a Chinese-themed festival (the first of many this year) complete with lion and dragon dancers bringing an even more celebratory atmosphere to the street. See you there! On to this week’s food notes:

• Want to learn more about urban beekeeping? Look no further than Lola Canola (aka Patty Milligan)’s Bust into Beekeeping, May 15-16. E-mail Patty for more information.
• Liane reports that Food Network is currently recruiting Canadian chefs for Top Chef Canada. I’m willing to see how host Mark McEwan works out, but he’s no Tom Colicchio.
• So happy we have Transcend here, not only for brewing superb coffee, but for asking questions like this about the difference between “direct trade” and “relationship coffee” that make me think.
• Something on the horizon – the Health Hub, which will have space for a spa, cafe, bakery, and Hole’s Greenhouses.
• Cool addition to the Edmonton Christian School, a solar-powered greenhouse!
• Following up on her awesome post on Borough Market, Valerie wrote another must-read (preferably not on an empty stomach) on Neal’s Yard Dairy, with seemingly every cheese available on the planet. I love how each cheese is labelled with the name of the cheesemaker!
• I’m not sure this upscale trend will ever hit our city, but who knows, if the demand is there: New York restaurants that cater to tots – everything from stroller parking to complimentary cookies.
• Co Co Di, snug in their new location in Oliver (11454 Jasper Avenue, 780-425-1717), look about ready to open. I was a bit sceptical about the space, but from the outside, they’ve done much with curtains and paint to enliven the interior.

 

Co Co Di

• Thanks to The Edmontonian, I found out that Fatburger is coming to Edmonton City Centre Mall (next to Carlton Cards). I’ll hold out judgement until they open, but can a diner atmosphere be captured in a mall?

 

Fatburger

• Also coming soon, Sigma, which will replace the downtown location of Cosmos (10020 101A Avenue).

 

Sigma

• After MediaCamp on Saturday, Mack and I were looking for a comfortable, low-key place to unwind. Not surprisingly, we ended up at Route 99.

 

Poutine! (Mack asks me why I still take photos of it, even though they are mostly identical. I don’t know, old habits die hard?)

 

Cheeseburger

 

Mack’s pizza

Though the rain brings days filled with grey, I’m happy to see that the rain also finally brought green to our fair city. Onto this week’s food notes:

• Congrats to Nate Box on finally securing a space for Elm Cafe, at 100, 10140 – 117 Street. He hopes to open up shop on May 31. Follow Elm Cafe on Twitter for updates!
• More new restaurants: Lillian reviewed Chinatown’s Noodle Maker (9653 102 Avenue) last week, and Kelly wrote about Rodeo Burgers (8525B 112 Street), a fairly new U of A campus option.
• On the flip side, closures: The Cake House (12415 107 Avenue) will transform into the Cellar Door Cake & Catering, sometime soon; Wild Tangerine Mobile Cuisine in Manulife Place is no longer (not sure when that happened); and Liane posted that Gino’s Italian Kitchen has closed for good.
• The same week Planet Organic celebrated its birthday (May 1), it also went into court-ordered bankruptcy protection.  Store officials say it’s still business as usual though.
• Make that another local restaurant that serves an amuse bouche – L2 Grill. Check out a review by A Wannabe Foodie.
• New-ish restaurant Oil Lamp (10247 97 Street) was also reviewed in See Magazine this week.
• I’ve mentioned Culina’s Back of House blog before, but if you haven’t checked it out before, Chef Stacy Brown’s post on how to turn ducks into hot dogs is a great step-by-step guide, if you wanted to attempt it on your own. For someone like me, I have to get myself to BiBo, pronto.
• Valerie’s post on London’s Borough Market is a must-read, her descriptions absolutely maddening (in a good way) and her photos absolutely amazing. It almost makes you want to get on a plane. Tomorrow.
• Check out Chris’s video on his glazed bacon burger (2 Tim Horton’s glazed doughnuts + a Wendy’s Baconator) – it is sure to go viral soon.
• Slow Food Edmonton is now on Twitter (currently maintained by our Convivium Leader, Thea).
• I have added another restaurant to our must-visit list in Calgary – Janice’s Beaton’s grilled cheese bar.
• Vancouver’s Mayor is pushing for more food carts, inspired by Portland (what isn’t inspired by Portland?). Can we have more carts too, please?
• I haven’t been inside the Citadel Theatre in some time – four weeks ago they added a Second Cup! While we were waiting for our matinee show to start, the cafe was absolutely bustling – looks like it was a much needed service.

Second Cup in the Citadel

• I spied this awning for a Pho Anh Dao on 97 Street, but I can’t figure out if it’s a new establishment or perhaps one that just caught my attention with a different sign. Anyone know?

Pho Anh

• To celebrate the purchase of a new patio set (al fresco dining, here we come), we picked up some Happy Camel hummus and Sunbake Pita from the Italian Centre and Fairwinds Farm fresh goat cheese from Planet Organic. Not the most balanced lunch, but we certainly enjoyed it.

Patio dining, with view of my favourite canopy

I can’t believe the writers did that to Jack (24). The only solace is that other fans of the show seem to be as enraged as I feel. Anyway, here are this week’s food notes:

• I know I’ve been egging everyone on about getting Indulgence tickets early, but it turned out to be a typo on the Slow Food website. So – the tickets will actually go on sale after April 30 (and this year, hopefully online as well!).
• deVine Wines is celebrating the opening of Southgate and Century Park LRT stops on April 24 with free bubbles at their store (at Bay/Enterprise Square). How cool would it be if a shop along every stop offered something similar?
• I love that the debate on backyard chickens is finally reaching a head in Edmonton. All the power to the River City Chicken Collective (how could you not love a name like that?).
• The Journal kicked off its new series of local “celebrity chefs” with an article about Bill Eddins, conductor with the ESO, and apparent master in the kitchen. They also had a feature on the city’s upscale bathrooms – wonder how many will be prompted to visit a restaurant just for a peek at the loo?
• Vue published an interview with Yvan Chartrand, the new owner of Tree Stone Bakery, last week (besides bagels, he’ll be introducing doughnuts to their product line). The same issue also contained a review of a five-course raw dinner at Refresh Organic Bistro.
• Kabuki, the newest sushi purveyor in Edmonton, was reviewed positively in See Magazine this week.
• Food lovers (especially those who love to live vicariously through decadent descriptions and photos), must read Valerie’s post on her experience at The Fat Duck. I felt like I was with her at the table.
• Hurrah, the Greens, Eggs and Ham website is finally live!
• Need a knife? Check out Chris’s post on Knifewear, a Calgary store that features a vegetable station where you can try before you buy!
• The NYT published a good read about the current food photography obsession. I feel exactly the same as the man in the article who indicated that seeing a photo triggers vibrant memories of the situation surrounding when it was taken.
• On the topic of the Times – I’m not sure about the invasion of critic Sam Sifton’s privacy, but I love that he tried a Double Down (KFC’s new breadless fried chicken sandwich) on the day of its debut.
• Also in NY – though it must be stressful for both the critics to maintain their anonymity and for restaurants to continuously chip away at it, I find it fascinating that bulletins like this on the city’s food writers exist. I don’t think it’ll ever come to that in Edmonton.
• I’m not sure a hotel with a Starbucks is as much of a draw to me as for those interviewed for this article, but sometimes, the feeling of seeing an SBUX when in an unfamiliar place is comforting.
• This is a great piece on the guy that started Five Guys – I love his quality-driven philosophy.
• I caught a few minutes of an episode of Cupcake Girls on the W Network, a reality show about Heather and Lori, the two women behind Cupcakes, the successful cupcakery in Vancouver. In the episode, they were whining about having to learn how to bake the cupcakes themselves – I have to say I was reminded (and not positively) of Lynn Crawford’s demeanour in Pitchin’ In.
• I’ve been trying to catch Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, though some of it does seem too good to be true. Grub Street has some links to stories that cover the fallout of his filming.
• While at Credo last week, I noticed that Lit Wine Bar had put up additional signage. That’s the most I’ve seen done on the storefront for some time – perhaps it’s not long until TZiN finally has some cross-street competition.

 

Lit Wine Bar

• Pho Tau Bay is finally open again, and has been since April 1. Not having lunch on Friday wasn’t such a bad thing when it meant I could order a steaming bowl of beef noodle soup. Yum.

 

Pho with well done flank and tendon

• Mack and I went to OPM to help Megan celebrate her birthday yesterday. The food was all right (calamari had a nice heat level, but was a bit on the salty side, but I liked the yam fries). It was interesting to see that they had a gluten-free menu, as well as vegetarian substitutions for their meat-based dishes.

 

Wok-fired squid

O

range ginger beef

 

Yam fries